Ryan Mason can go to town in the transfer window with West Brom’s new £10 million cash injection.
West Bromwich Albion are about to receive a significant cash injection and could soon go on a spending spree to boost their Championship play-off hopes.
Heggem leaving will come as a huge blow from a sporting perspective but West Brom are currently walking a fine line with the Championship’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) and recording such a tidy profit will help a great deal. And, as buying players works differently with respect to PSR, Albion can splash the Heggem cash and still balance the books.
This is because the cost of signings is spread across a new player’s contract length. Although the Baggies may agree to pay a club the full fee straight away, PSR offers a little more flexibility. Who could Albion go out and sign with the Heggem money, then? Well, Birmingham World has been peeking at the market and believes there are two standout players...
West Brom should target £10m Crystal Palace forward
With Grady Diangana’s departure finalised and academy product Tom Fellows attracting Premier League interest, West Brom need a new direct winger, simply put. Rak-Sakyi could be a great fit as he loves to take on defenders and is blisteringly quick on the ball. He’s already played in the 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 formations likely to be deployed by Mason, too.
Rak-Sakyi excelled on loan at Charlton Athletic in League One two years ago, scoring 15 goals and providing eight assists in 43 appearances. His pace, dribbling, and finishing translate well to the Championship, as shown on loan at Sheffield United last term, where he has scored seven goals and made two assists in 34 appearances.
Although it may be tempting to rejoin the Blades, Rak-Sakyi only started in 22 of his 35 Championship appearances last term and could be rotated heavily again. Albion may be able to offer more guaranteed starts than Sheffield United, helping Rak-Sakyi shift closer to his full potential. Albeit not a move officially speculated just yet, it could make great sense.
It awaits to be seen how high a bid West Brom would need to table to get Palace to accept, as Rangers’ £10 million proposal was rebuffed. It may have been the loan-to-buy nature of the offer that Palace didn’t like, but that’s merely a guess. Either way, if Albion could land Rak-Sakyi for a little over that price tag, he could be an outstanding addition.
Manchester City star could replace Heggem
To fill the void soon to be left by Heggem’s exit, West Brom could target Manchester City centre-back Callum Doyle. The 21-year-old is expected to be loaned out by the Premier League title challengers for a fifth successive season following successful spells at Sunderland, Coventry City, Leicester City and Norwich City, so Albion could have a good chance of landing his services.
Recently part of the Young Lions squad which won the UEFA European Under-21 Championships, Doyle has already racked up 98 Championship appearances at his tender age. The central defender, also capable of playing at left-back if required, ranked in the top five per cent of English second-tier centre-backs for successful passes, accurate long balls, touches and successful dribbles last season.
Doyle also showcased his defensive attributes as, per 90 minutes, he registered 4.05 recoveries, 1.46 interceptions, 0.86 tackles and 3.95 duels won. Those statistics didn’t rank him overly high in the Championship but Albion’s right-sided centre-half, Nat Phillips, is expected to be more involved in the nitty-gritty.
Not only would Doyle’s arrival soften the blow of Heggem’s departure at centre-back, but it’d also provide cover for Callum Styles at left-back, just as Albion’s departing Norwegian did at times last campaign. There’s bound to be plenty of competition, but Albion should go all out to try and land Doyle on loan. It’s a no-brainer, even if a fee is involved.
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